System and method for database integrity checking

ABSTRACT

A method is disclosed for checking the integrity of a database through a test of database integrity information provided in the database and integrity information provided external to the database. The integrity information may be provided in a configuration file.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to healthcare related databasesystems and in particular to integrity checks of healthcare relateddatabase systems.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Databases are used to store patient physiological information, such astest data, in healthcare related database systems. This data is storedin respective units. For example, blood glucose (bG) values may bestored in milligrams per deciliter (mg/dL) or millimoles per liter(mmol/L). The significance of a value of 20 for blood glucose differsgreatly depending on whether the units are mg/dL or mmol/L. Normal bloodglucose values are generally in the range of about 4 mmol/L to about 8mmol/L which is in the range of about 70 mg/dL to about 150 mg/dL.Returning to the value of 20, at 20 mg/dL the patient is well under thenormal range while at 20 mmol/L the patient is well above the normalrange. As is known, a caregiver or patient may make different therapy orlifestyle choices based on whether the value of the patient's bloodsugar is above normal or below normal.

Regardless of the units in which the data is stored, the data may bepresented to a user in another unit. For instance, the blood glucosevalues of the patient may be stored in in the database in the unitsmg/dL and a user of a software package accessing the database may desireto have the patient blood glucose values displayed on a report inmmol/L. As is known, a conversion may be made to convert from mmol/L tomg/dL, as illustrated by equation 1.

bG(mmol/L)*n=bG(mg/dL)  (1)

In equation 1, n is a conversion factor. For equation 1, n is equal toabout 18. As stated above, a caregiver or patient may make differenttherapy or lifestyle choices based on whether the value of the patient'sblood sugar is above normal or below normal. As such, the value of nneeds to be accurate to reflect the correct values of a patient's bloodglucose to a caregiver or patient when displayed or otherwise presentedin a unit different from the unit that the value is stored.

Although the exemplary blood glucose conversion given above has a singleconversion factor, other conversions have multiple conversionquantities, such as converting temperature from Celsius scale toFahrenheit scale which has both a conversion factor and a conversionoffset.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates generally to healthcare related databasesystems and in particular to integrity checks of healthcare relateddatabase systems. A healthcare management software system is provided.The healthcare management software system includes the ability to reviewphysiological information about one or more patients.

In an exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method ofchecking the integrity of a database containing both physiologicalinformation and database integrity information is provided. The databasebeing accessible by a healthcare management software system. The methodincluding the steps of storing integrity information on a computerreadable media accessible by the healthcare management software system,the integrity information being stored separate from the database; anddetermining an integrity of the database based on a test of theintegrity information and the database integrity information containedin the database.

In another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a method ofchecking the integrity of a database containing both physiologicalinformation and database integrity information is provided. The databasebeing accessible by a healthcare management software system. The methodincluding the step of providing a computer readable medium including aninstallation software which installs a version of a healthcaremanagement software system. The installation software being able toperform at least a first installation of a first version of thehealthcare management software system including a first database havinga first database integrity information and a first file containing afirst integrity information and a second installation of a secondversion of the healthcare management software system including a seconddatabase having a second database integrity information and a secondfile containing a second integrity information. The method furtherincluding the steps of receiving a request to perform the firstinstallation; installing the first version of the healthcare managementsoftware system; and determining an integrity of the first databasethrough a test of the first database integrity information with thefirst integrity information.

In a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a systemfor managing healthcare related information is provided. The systemincluding at least a first computing device; and a memory accessible bythe first computing device. The memory including healthcare managementsoftware system including instructions to display on a display a userinterface of the healthcare management software system, instructions todisplay on the display representations of physiological informationincluded in a patient database accessible by the healthcare managementsoftware system, and a file including integrity information. Thehealthcare management software system including instructions to verifyan integrity of the patient database through a test of a databaseintegrity information contained in the patient database with theintegrity information.

In yet another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, a userinterface of a healthcare management software system to be presented onan electronic display is provided. The healthcare management softwaresystem having access to a database containing physiological information.The user interface comprising: a first selection input to request acheck of the integrity of the database containing physiologicalinformation; and a second selection input to download additionalphysiological information from a remote device, the additionalphysiological information being included in the database.

In still a further exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, acomputer readable medium having computer-executable instructions forchecking the integrity of a database containing both physiologicalinformation and database integrity information is provided. The computerexecutable instructions including instructions to display a userinterface of a healthcare management software system; and instructionsto determine an integrity of the database based on a test of integrityinformation stored external to the database and the database integrityinformation contained in the database.

In still another exemplary embodiment of the present disclosure, acomputer readable medium having computer-executable instructions isprovided. The computer executable instructions including an installationsoftware which installs a version of a healthcare management softwaresystem. The installation software being able to perform at least a firstinstallation of a first version of the healthcare management softwaresystem including a first database having a first database integrityinformation and a first file containing a first integrity informationand a second installation of a second version of the healthcaremanagement software system including a second database having a seconddatabase integrity information and a second file containing a secondintegrity information.

Additional features and advantages of the present invention will becomeapparent to those skilled in the art upon consideration of the followingdetailed description of illustrative embodiments exemplifying the bestmode of carrying out the invention as presently perceived.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

The detailed description of the drawings particularly refers to theaccompanying figures in which:

FIG. 1 is a representation of a computing device having access to one ormore output devices and access to a memory containing a patientdatabase, a healthcare management software system, and integrityinformation.

FIG. 2 is a representation of an installation software provided on amemory and an installed version of a healthcare management softwaresystem installed on a second memory in response to a request.

FIG. 3 is a representation of an exemplary computing device receivinginformation from a remote medical device.

FIG. 4 is a representation of the checking of an integrity of a databasein response to one of a plurality of conditions.

FIG. 5 is a representation of an exemplary method of checking theintegrity of a database.

FIG. 6 is an exemplary main menu screen of a user interface of ahealthcare management software system.

FIG. 7 is an exemplary administrator functions screen of a userinterface of a healthcare management software system.

FIG. 8 is an exemplary database administration screen of a userinterface of a healthcare management software system.

FIG. 9 is an exemplary pop-up window of a user interface of a healthcaremanagement software system providing an indication that a databasepassed an integrity check.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The embodiments of the invention described herein are not intended to beexhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise forms disclosed.Rather, the embodiments selected for description have been chosen toenable one skilled in the art to practice the invention.

Concepts described herein may be further explained in one of more of theco-filed patent applications entitled HELP UTILITY FUNCTIONALITY ANDARCHITECTURE (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0033), METHOD AND SYSTEM FORGRAPHICALLY INDICATING MULTIPLE DATA VALUES (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0039),METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DATA SOURCE AND MODIFICATION TRACKING (AttyDocket: ROCHE-P0037), PATIENT-CENTRIC HEALTHCARE INFORMATION MAINTENANCE(Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0043), EXPORT FILE FORMAT WITH MANIFEST FORENHANCED DATA TRANSFER (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0044), GRAPHIC ZOOMFUNCTIONALITY FOR A CUSTOM REPORT (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0048), METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR SELECTIVE MERGING OF PATIENT DATA (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0065),METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PERSONAL MEDICAL DATA DATABASE MERGING (AttyDocket: ROCHE-P0066), METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR WIRELESS DEVICECOMMUNICATION (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0034), METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR SETTINGTIME BLOCKS (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0054), METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ENHANCEDDATA TRANSFER (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0042), COMMON EXTENSIBLE DATAEXCHANGE FORMAT (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0036), METHOD OF CLONING SERVERINSTALLATION TO A NETWORK CLIENT (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0035), METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR QUERYING A DATABASE (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0049), METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR EVENT BASED DATA COMPARISON (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0050),DYNAMIC COMMUNICATION STACK (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0051), SYSTEM ANDMETHOD FOR REPORTING MEDICAL INFORMATION (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0045),METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MERGING EXTENSIBLE DATA INTO A DATABASE USINGGLOBALLY UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0052), METHOD ANDSYSTEM FOR ACTIVATING FEATURES AND FUNCTIONS OF A CONSOLIDATED SOFTWAREAPPLICATION (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0057), METHOD AND SYSTEM FORCONFIGURING A CONSOLIDATED SOFTWARE APPLICATION (Atty Docket:ROCHE-P0058), METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR DATA SELECTION AND DISPLAY (AttyDocket: ROCHE-P0011), METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR ASSOCIATING DATABASE CONTENTFOR SECURITY ENHANCEMENT (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0041), METHOD AND SYSTEMFOR CREATING REPORTS (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0046), METHOD AND SYSTEM FORCREATING USER-DEFINED OUTPUTS (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0047), DATA DRIVENCOMMUNICATION PROTOCOL GRAMMAR (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0055), HEALTHCAREMANAGEMENT SYSTEM HAVING IMPROVED PRINTING OF DISPLAY SCREEN INFORMATION(Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0031), and METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MULTI-DEVICECOMMUNICATION (Atty Docket: ROCHE-P0064), the entire disclosures ofwhich are hereby expressly incorporated herein by reference. It shouldbe understood that the concepts described herein may relate to diabetesmanagement software systems for tracking and analyzing health data, suchas, for example, the ACCU-CHEK® 360° product provided by RocheDiagnostics. However, the concepts described herein may also haveapplicability to apparatuses, methods, systems, and software in fieldsthat are unrelated to healthcare. Furthermore, it should be understoodthat references in this patent application to devices, meters, monitors,pumps, or related terms are intended to encompass any currently existingor later developed apparatus that includes some or all of the featuresattributed to the referred to apparatus, including but not limited tothe ACCU-CHEK® Active, ACCU-CHEK® Aviva, ACCU-CHEK® Compact, ACCU-CHEK®Compact Plus, ACCU-CHEK® Integra, ACCU-CHEK® Go, ACCU-CHEK® Performa,ACCU-CHEK® Spirit, ACCU-CHEK® D-Tron Plus, and ACCU-CHEK® VoicematePlus, all provided by Roche Diagnostics or divisions thereof.

Referring to FIG. 1, a computing device 100 is shown. Computing device100 may be a general purpose computer or a portable computing device.Although computing device 100 is illustrated as a single computingdevice, it should be understood that multiple computing devices may beused together, such as over a network or other methods of transferringdata. Exemplary computing devices include desktop computers, laptopcomputers, personal data assistants (“PDA”), such as BLACKBERRY branddevices, cellular devices, tablet computers, infusion pumps, bloodglucose meters, or an integrated device including a glucose measurementengine and a PDA or cell phone.

Computing device 100 has access to a memory 102. Memory 102 is acomputer readable medium and may be a single storage device or multiplestorage devices, located either locally with computing device 100 oraccessible across a network. Computer-readable media may be anyavailable media that can be accessed by the computer 102 and includesboth volatile and non-volatile media. Further, computer readable-mediamay be one or both of removable and non-removable media. By way ofexample, and not limitation, computer-readable media may comprisecomputer storage media. Exemplary computer storage media includes, butis not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, Digital Versatile Disk (DVD) or other optical diskstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used tostore the desired information and which can be accessed by the computingdevice 100.

Memory 102 includes one or more patient databases 104, healthcaremanagement software system 106, and integrity information 108. Patientdatabases 104 include physiological information 110 related to one ormore patients. Exemplary physiological information includes bloodglucose values, A1c values, Albumin values, Albumin excretion values,body mass index values, blood pressure values, carbohydrate values,cholesterol values (total, HDL, LDL, ratio) creatinine values,fructosamine values, HbA1 values, height values, insulin dose values,insulin rate values, total daily insulin values, ketone values,microalbumin values, proteinuria values, heart rate values, temperaturevalues, triglyceride values, and weight values. Physiologicalinformation 110 may be provided directly by the patient, provided by acaregiver, and/or provided by one or more sensors. Exemplary sensors areprovided in insulin pumps and glucose meters.

Healthcare management software system 106 includes instructions whichwhen executed by computing device 100 present physiological information110 or information based on physiological information 110 to an outputdevice 112. Exemplary information presented by healthcare managementsoftware system 106 to output device 112 include diaries of bloodglucose values and reports showing a plurality of blood glucose values.Exemplary reports include standard day reports wherein the blood glucosevalues are grouped according to the time of day taken, standard weekreports wherein the blood glucose values are grouped according to theday of the week taken, trend graphs to illustrate temporal trends inblood glucose values, and other suitable reports.

Computing device 100 has access to output device 112. Exemplary outputdevices 112 include fax machines 114, displays 116, printers 118, andfiles 120. Files 120 may have various formats. In one embodiment, files120 are portable document format (PDF) files.

In one embodiment, files 120 are formatted for display by an Internetbrowser, such as internet Explorer available from Microsoft of Redmond,Wash., and may include one or more of HyperText Markup Language(“HTML”), or other formatting instructions. In one embodiment, files 120are files stored in memory 102 for transmission to another computingdevice and eventual presentation by another output device or to at leastinfluence information provided by the another output device.

Memory 102 further includes integrity information 108. Integrityinformation 108 is information contained separate from patient database104 which provides a check of the data in patient database 104 to ensurethat the physiological information 110 or information based onphysiological information 110 is presented to output device 112 byhealthcare management software system 106 correctly. As mentionedherein, physiological information 110 may be used by patients and/orhealthcare professionals to determine therapy adjustments for thepatient and/or lifestyle adjustments for the patient. Exemplarytherapies include insulin and other medications.

Integrity information 108 differs from security information.Traditionally security information has been used in software systems toensure that a given user has permission to access physiologicalinformation 110 and/or to ensure that a license associated with thesoftware is other than past due. Integrity information 108 is notassociated with these traditional functions of security information.That said, in one embodiment, integrity information 108 may be includedin the same file as security information.

Integrity information 108 is defined as information which is used toverify the accuracy of the database, such as patient database 104.Integrity information 108 may include both data used in determininginformation to present with output device 112 and data not used indetermining information to present with output device 112. Exemplaryinformation used in determining information to present with outputdevice 112 includes conversion quantities, units, textual labels, andother information presented with output device 112 or used to determineinformation presented with output device 112. Exemplary information notused in determining information to present with output device 112includes keys, identification information, and other suitableinformation.

In one embodiment, integrity information 108 is a part of aconfiguration file 140 stored in memory 102. In one embodiment,configuration file 140 is an encrypted file. Known encryption techniquesmay be used to encrypt configuration file 140. An exemplary encryptiontechnique is to determine a digest of configuration file 140 and thenencrypt with a private key. This produces a signed encryptedconfiguration file 140. In one embodiment, configuration file 140 is notan encrypted file. In one embodiment, wherein configuration file 140 isunencrypted an assurance of the contents of configuration file 140 maybe made through other ways, such as whether the configuration file isstored on a read only media or a checksum.

Referring to FIG. 2, in one embodiment, a computer readable media 142 isprovided that includes installation software 144 which installshealthcare management software system 106 on memory 102 which isaccessible by computing device 100. Computer readable media 142 alsoincludes a plurality of configuration files 140, illustrativelyconfiguration files 140A-D. Each of configuration files 140A-Dcorresponds to a particular version of healthcare management softwaresystem 106 which may be installed. In the illustrated example, each ofconfiguration files 140A-D corresponds to a particular region for whichthe healthcare management software system 106 may be configured.Exemplary regions include, the United States (US), Canada (CA), Germany(DE), and the remainder of the world (OTHER).

In one embodiment, installation software 144 receives a request 150 toinstall a version of healthcare management software system 106 which isconfigured for region A on computer readable media 102. Request 150 maybe provided by an operator through a selection made during execution ofinstallation software 144. Request 150 may be provided as a portion ofan activation key provided by an operator during execution ofinstallation software 144.

During installation of healthcare management software system 106 forregion A, installation software 144 places on computer readable media102 a system database 146, a patient database 104, and configurationfile 140A. System database 146 includes information regarding the user'sof healthcare management software system 106 and setting information.Exemplary setting information includes user access information, userspecific and system wide setting information, such as customizedappearance of the system and customized report settings. Patientdatabase 104 includes physiological information 110 and databaseintegrity information 111. Database integrity information is theinformation contained in database 104 which is tested against integrityinformation 108 to determine the integrity of database 104.Configuration file 140A includes integrity information 108.

In one embodiment, healthcare management software system 106 is diabetescare software which is loaded on a computing device 100. The diabetescare software interacts with a blood glucose meter to receive bloodglucose values and other physiological information. The diabetes caresoftware system then is able to present the blood glucose values to thepatient or caregiver for review. Referring to FIG. 3, an exemplarycomputing device 200 is shown. In one embodiment, installation software144 installs a diabetes care software system on computing device 200 asdescribed above. Computing device 200 is a personal computer 202.Computing device 200 is coupled to an output device 204, illustrativelya display screen 206. Computing device 200 is further coupled to aplurality of input devices 208. A first exemplary input device is akeyboard 210. A second exemplary input device is a mouse 212. A thirdexemplary input device is a modulated signal transceiver 214, inelectronic communication with computer 202 through a cable 216.Transceiver 214 is configured to transmit and receive a modulated signal218 and to establish communications to and from a remote device 220. Anexemplary remote device 220 is a blood glucose meter 222.

In one embodiment, blood glucose meter 222 is assigned to a patient andassociated with that patient in healthcare management software system106. Thus, when physiological information from blood glucose meter 222is transferred to healthcare management software system 106, thephysiological information from blood glucose meter 222 automaticallypopulates database records in patient database 104 relating to thatpatient.

Although a blood glucose meter 222 is shown, any medical device may beimplemented having data to be used by healthcare management softwaresystem 106. Medical devices 220 are devices capable of recording patientdata and transferring data to software applications and may includemonitors which record values of measurements relating to a patient'sstate and information such as the time and date when the measurement wasrecorded. Medical devices may also be devices configured to providemedications to patients such as, for example, insulin pumps. Thesedevices, generally, record dosage amounts as well as the time and datewhen the medication was provided. It should be understood that thefunctionality of medical device 220 may be included within an exemplarycomputing device 100.

Computing device 200 may be used by the patient, a caregiver, or anyonehaving relevant data pertaining to a patient. Computing device 200 maybe located in a patient's home, a healthcare facility, a drugstore, akiosk, or any other convenient place. In an alternative embodiment,computing device 200 may be connected to a remote computing device, suchas at a caregiver's facility or a location accessible by a caregiver,and physiological information 110 in patient database 104, or thecomplete patient database 104, may be transferred between them. In thisembodiment, computing device 200 and the remote device are configured totransfer physiological information 110 in patient database 104, or thecomplete patient database 104, between them through a data connectionsuch as, for example, via the Internet, cellular communications, or thephysical transfer of a memory device such as a diskette, USB key,compact disc, or other portable memory device. Computing device 200and/or the remote device, may be configured to receive physiologicalinformation 110 from a medical device or, alternatively, to receivephysiological information 110 transferred from the other of computingdevice 200 and the remote device.

Referring to FIG. 4, healthcare management software system 106 performsan integrity check of patient database 104. Six exemplary conditions 250are shown which result in the performance of an integrity check ofpatient database 104. A first exemplary condition 252 is upon theinstallation of the healthcare management software system 106. Once thehealthcare management software system 106 is installed it performs acheck of the integrity of the patient database 104 created during theinstallation. A second exemplary condition 254 is upon a launch of thehealthcare management software system 106 by computing device 100. Alaunch of healthcare management software system 106 may occur inresponse to a user requesting a launch, such as by selecting an icon ondisplay 116. A launch of healthcare management software system 106 mayoccur in response to the detection of a blood glucose meter 222 bycomputing device 200. A third exemplary condition 256 is upon theassociating of a different patient database 104 with healthcaremanagement software system 106. A fourth exemplary condition 258 is upona request to restore a patient database 104. A fifth exemplary condition260 is upon a request to migrate information from a different format toa patient database 104. An exemplary different format is a patientdatabase for another healthcare monitoring software system, such as theAccu-Chek Compass software system available from the assignee of thepresent application. A sixth exemplary condition 262 is upon a requestfrom a user to check the integrity of the patient database 104.

To check the integrity of the patient database 104, healthcaremanagement software system 106 loads the integrity information 108 andthe database integrity information 111, as represented by blocks 264 and266. The healthcare management software system 106 then performs anintegrity test of the patient database 104, as represented by block 268.The integrity test may be any process whereby the accuracy of patientdatabase 104 may be affirmed or denied. An exemplary integrity test isprovided in FIG. 5 and explained below. The healthcare managementsoftware system 106 provides an indication of a non-verified databaseintegrity in response to a failed integrity test, as represented byblock 270. An exemplary indication of a non-verified database integritytest is an error message presented by one of output devices 112. Thehealthcare management software system 106 provides an indication of averified database integrity in response to a passed integrity test, asrepresented by block 272. An exemplary indication of a verified databaseintegrity test is a message presented by one of output devices 112.Another exemplary indication of a verified database integrity test isthe launching of the healthcare management software system 106.

Referring to FIG. 5, an exemplary integrity test 280 is represented.Healthcare management software system 106 loads a first integrityinformation value 282 and a first database integrity information value284, as represented by blocks 286 and 288, respectively. Healthcaremanagement software system 106 compares the first integrity informationvalue 282 and the first database integrity information value 284, asrepresented by block 290. If the first integrity information value 282and the first database integrity information value 284 do not match,then the integrity test 280 fails, as represented by block 292. If thefirst integrity information value 282 and the first database integrityinformation value 284 match, a check is made whether additionalintegrity values still need to be checked, as represented by block 294.If additional integrity values are present, the next integrityinformation value 282 and database integrity information value 284 areloaded by healthcare management software system 106, as represented byblock 296 and the comparison of the new values is performed, asrepresented by block 290. This repeats until either the integrity testfails or there are not any additional integrity information values 282and database integrity information values 284 to check. At the pointthat there are not any additional integrity information values 282 anddatabase integrity information values 284 to check, the integrity testpasses, as represented by block 298.

Exemplary information for integrity information 108 and databaseintegrity information 111 include conversion quantities, default unitsfor display, default low and high data targets, and lists of insulin.Exemplary information for integrity information 108 and databaseintegrity information 111 are provided in the following table:

Default Storage Display Conversion Conversion Data Type Units Unit unitfactor offset A1c % Y Y 1 0 Albumin mg/L Y Y 1 0 Albumin excretionmicrograms/min Y Y 1 0 Albumin excretion mg/day N N 1.44 0 bG (meter)mg/dL Y Y 1 0 bG (meter) mmol/L N N 0.0555 0 bG (Laboratory) mg/dL Y Y 10 bG (Laboratory) mmol/L N N 0.0555 0 BMI kg/m² Y Y 1 0 Blood pressurekPa Y N 1 0 (diastolic) Blood pressure mmHg N Y 7.5002 0 (diastolic)Blood pressure kPa Y N 1 0 (systolic) Blood pressure mmHg N Y 7.5002 0(systolic) Carbohydrates g Y Y 1 0 Carbohydrates BE N N 0.0833 0Carbohydrates CE (1:15) N N 0.0667 0 Carbohydrates CE (1:20) N N 0.05 0Carbohydrates CE (1:12) N N 0.0833 0 Carbohydrates BW N N 0.1 0Carbohydrates CB N N 0.0667 0 Carbohydrates KE N N 0.1 0 CarbohydratesPTGL N N 0.05 0 Cholesterol (Total) mg/dL Y Y 1 0 Cholesterol (Total)mmol/L N N 0.0259 0 Cholesterol (HDL) mg/dL Y Y 1 0 Cholesterol (HDL)mmol/L N N 0.0259 0 Cholesterol (LDL) mg/dL Y Y 1 0 Cholesterol (LDL)mmol/L N N 0.0259 0 Cholesterol (Ratio) NULL Y Y 1 0 Creatininemicromol/L Y Y 1 0 Creatinine mg/dL N N 0.0113 0 Fructosamine micromol/LY Y 1 0 Fructosamine mg/dL N N 0.179 0 HbA1 % Y Y 1 0 Height cm Y N 1 0Height inches N Y 0.3937 0 Insulin Dose (Bolus) units Y Y 1 0 InsulinRate units/hour Y Y 1 0 Total Daily Insulin units Y Y 1 0 DoseMicroalbumin micrograms/dL Y Y 1 0 Proteinuria mg/dL Y Y 1 0 Heart Ratebpm Y Y 1 0 Relative Factor % Y Y 1 0 Temperature ° C. Y N 1 0Temperature ° F. N Y 1.8 −32 Triglycerides mg/dL Y Y 1 0 Triglyceridesmmol/L N N 0.0114 0 Weight kg Y N 1 0 Weight lbs N Y 2.2002 0Integrity information 108 and database integrity information 111 may beany of the values listed in columns 2-6 for database attributes given inthe left-most column, column 1. Of course, the values in the table maydiffer depending on the version of healthcare management software system106 installed. For example, for the weight attribute the defaultdisplayed unit may be kilograms for a version for Europe while it ispounds for a version for the United States. Therefore, the integrityinformation 108 and database integrity information 111 may differ fordifferent versions of healthcare management software system 106. In oneembodiment, both integrity information 108 and database integrityinformation 111 have the exact same values.

An embodiment of healthcare management software system 106 is shown inFIGS. 6-9. User interface 300 is shown. Referring to FIG. 6, a main menuscreen 302 of user interface 300 is shown. Screen 302 includes a firstselection input 304 for downloading physiological information 110 fromglucose meter 222 for inclusion in patient database 104. A secondselection input 306 is provided for downloading physiologicalinformation 110 from glucose meter 222, but not for storing in patientdatabase 104. A third selection input 308 is provided for managingphysiological information 110 in patient database 104 includinggeneration of reports and entry of additional physiological information110.

A fourth selection input 310 is provided for a tools menu. The toolsmenu includes selection inputs for importing physiological information110, exporting physiological information 110, clearing physiologicalinformation 110 on a meter 222 in communication with healthcaremanagement software system 106, setting the date and time of a meter 222in communication with healthcare management software system 106,determining by brand the amount of testing data communicated from aplurality of meters 222. As such, a caregiver may see that for meterbrand A 3000 entries of testing data for 20 patients were downloadedwhile for meter brand B 1000 entries of testing data for 20 patientswere downloaded. The caregiver may then have a clearer picture of thebrand of meter that their patients are using more frequently.

A fifth selection input 312 is provided for population management.Exemplary population management includes the ability to create groupsbased on either query groups where the database is queried to findpatients that satisfy a criteria or a static group query. An exemplarystatic query group is a drug effectiveness group. The patients includedin the drug effectiveness group are known and should not be allowed tochange based on a query criteria. A sixth selection input 314 isprovided for changing the settings of healthcare management softwaresystem 106. A seventh selection input 316 is provided for advancedreports and letters which allows a user to create custom reports througha report template builder and a letter builder which generates lettersto patients in the database meeting a given criteria. Exemplary criteriainclude recent office visit, upcoming testing, and other criteria. Aeighth selection input 318 is provided for administrator functions.

Upon selection of the eighth selection input 318, screen 320 (see FIG.7) is presented on user interface 300. A first selection input 322 isprovided for user administration. Exemplary user administrationfunctions include creating a new user in healthcare management softwaresystem 106, deleting a user from healthcare management software system106, and changing the role (administrator or not) of a user inhealthcare management software system 106. A second selection input 324is provided for database administration. Exemplary databaseadministration functions are discussed in connection with FIG. 8 below.A third selection input 326 is provided for data migration. Datamigration copies physiological information 110 from a database foranother healthcare management software system. A fourth selection input328 is provided for an audit log. Exemplary audit log functions includethe either printing or viewing an audit log for a designated date rangeto show records of usage. A fifth selection input 330 is provided for asystem setup wizard. Exemplary system setup wizard functions include theability to define default settings for an installation of healthcaremanagement software system 106. A sixth selection input 332 is providedfor system information which provides a pop-up window including bothhealthcare management software system 106 information (such as version)and information regarding computing device 100 and peripherals (such asoperating system, service packs installed, type of cable 216 connectingmeter 222 to computing device 200, and the type of processor ofcomputing device 200). A seventh selection input 334 is provided forenable/disable functions which allows a user to enable or disablefeatures of healthcare management software system 106.

Upon selection of the second selection input 324, screen 340 (see FIG.8) is presented on user interface 300. A first selection input 342 isprovided for database backup wherein a copy of patient database 104 isstored. A second selection input 344 is provided for database restorewherein the information in patient database 104 is restored from aprevious backup copy of patient database 104. A third selection input346 is provided for check database integrity wherein an integrity testis performed on patient database 104. A fourth selection input 348 isprovided for clearing database connections wherein all connections byother users to patient database 104 are cleared. A fifth selection input350 is provided for changing databases wherein another patient database104 may be loaded. A sixth selection input 352 is provided for creatinga new patient database 104.

Healthcare management software system 106, upon selection of selectioninput 346, performs an integrity test of the patient database 104. Inone embodiment, healthcare management software system 106 checks to seeif the database integrity information 111 matches the integrityinformation 108 as the integrity test. Assuming patient database 104passes the integrity test, a pop-up window 360 is displayed as part ofuser interface 300. Pop-up window 360 includes a textual label 362indicating that patient database 104 includes the predefined data whichis the database integrity information. Pop-up window 360 also includestextual labels 364 and 366 which indicate that patient database 104 hasalso passed two additional tests. The test corresponding to textuallabel 364 checks patient database 104 to make sure that patient database104 has the correct database structure. In one embodiment, the correctdatabase structure test checks to determine if all of the requireddatabase tables and database objects are contained in the patientdatabase 104. The test corresponding to textual label 366 checks patientdatabase 104 to make sure that patient database 104 has sufficientstorage capacity for additional physiological data 110.

Although the invention has been described in detail with reference tocertain preferred embodiments, variations and modifications exist withinthe spirit and scope of the invention as described and defined in thefollowing claims.

1. A method of checking the integrity of a database containing bothphysiological information and database integrity information, thedatabase being accessible by a healthcare management software system,the method including the steps of: storing integrity information on acomputer readable media accessible by the healthcare management softwaresystem, the integrity information being stored separate from thedatabase; and determining an integrity of the database based on a testof the integrity information and the database integrity informationcontained in the database.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein theintegrity information includes data used by the healthcare managementsoftware system in determining information to present with an outputdevice accessible by the healthcare management software system.
 3. Themethod of claim 2, wherein the integrity information includes at leastone conversion quantity for the physiological information contained inthe database, the database integrity information also including the atleast one conversion quantity.
 4. The method of claim 1, wherein theintegrity information includes data not used by the healthcaremanagement software system in determining information to present with anoutput device accessible by the healthcare management software system.5. The method of claim 1, wherein the integrity information is includedin a configuration file.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein theconfiguration file is encrypted.
 7. The method of claim 1, wherein thestep of determining an integrity of the database based on a test of theintegrity information and the database integrity information containedin the database is performed as a part of an installation of thehealthcare management software system.
 8. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of determining an integrity of the database based on a test ofthe integrity information and the database integrity informationcontained in the database is performed as a part of launching thehealthcare management software system.
 9. The method of claim 1, whereinthe step of determining an integrity of the database based on a test ofthe integrity information and the database integrity informationcontained in the database is performed in response to a request to loadthe database by the healthcare management software system.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the step of determining an integrity of thedatabase based on a test of the integrity information and the databaseintegrity information contained in the database is performed in responseto a request to restore the database by the healthcare managementsoftware system.
 11. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofdetermining an integrity of the database based on a test of theintegrity information and the database integrity information containedin the database is performed in response to a request to migrate thedatabase from another format by the healthcare management softwaresystem.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the step of determining anintegrity of the database based on a test of the integrity informationand the database integrity information contained in the database isperformed in response to a request to determine the integrity of thedatabase provided to the healthcare management software system throughan input device.
 13. The method of claim 1, wherein the step ofdetermining an integrity of the database based on a test of theintegrity information and the database integrity information containedin the database includes the step of comparing the integrity informationto the database integrity information to see if they are identical. 14.The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of: providing anindication with an output device accessible by the healthcare managementsoftware system that the database passed the test in the step ofdetermining the integrity of the database.
 15. The method of claim 14,wherein the indication includes a visual indication provided with theoutput device by healthcare management software system.
 16. The methodof claim 14, wherein the indication includes permitting selection of aplurality of inputs of the healthcare management software systemdisplayed on a display.
 17. A method of checking the integrity of adatabase containing both physiological information and databaseintegrity information, the database being accessible by a healthcaremanagement software system, the method including the steps of: providinga computer readable medium including installation software whichinstalls a version of a healthcare management software system, theinstallation software being able to perform at least a firstinstallation of a first version of the healthcare management softwaresystem including a first database having a first database integrityinformation and a first file containing a first integrity informationand a second installation of a second version of the healthcaremanagement software system including a second database having a seconddatabase integrity information and a second file containing a secondintegrity information; receiving a request to perform the firstinstallation; installing the first version of the healthcare managementsoftware system; and determining an integrity of the first databasethrough a test of the first database integrity information with thefirst integrity information.
 18. The method of claim 17, wherein thetest includes comparing a first value of the first integrity informationto a first value of the first database integrity information.
 19. Themethod of claim 18, wherein the first value of the first integrityinformation is a conversion quantity for a physiological informationcontained in the first database.
 20. The method of claim 18, wherein thefirst value of the integrity information includes data used byhealthcare management software system in determining information topresent with an output device accessible by the healthcare managementsoftware system.
 21. The method of claim 18, wherein the first value ofthe integrity information includes data not used by healthcaremanagement software system in determining information to present with anoutput device accessible by the healthcare management software system.22. The method of claim 17, wherein the first integrity information isincluded in a configuration file.
 23. The method of claim 17, whereinthe configuration file is an encrypted configuration file.
 24. A systemfor managing healthcare related information, including at least a firstcomputing device; and a memory accessible by the first computing device,the memory including healthcare management software system includinginstructions to display on a display a user interface of the healthcaremanagement software system, instructions to display on the displayrepresentations of physiological information included in a patientdatabase accessible by the healthcare management software system, and afile including integrity information, the healthcare management softwaresystem including instructions to verify an integrity of the patientdatabase through a test of a database integrity information contained inthe patient database with the integrity information.
 25. The system ofclaim 24, wherein the patient database includes blood glucose valuesobtained from a glucose meter, the glucose meter being detected by thehealthcare management software system.
 26. The system of claim 24,wherein the file is an encrypted configuration file.
 27. A userinterface of a healthcare management software system to be presented onan electronic display, the healthcare management software system havingaccess to a database containing physiological information, the userinterface comprising: a first selection input to request a check of theintegrity of the database containing physiological information; and asecond selection input to download additional physiological informationfrom a remote device, the additional physiological information beingincluded in the database.
 28. The user interface of claim 27, wherein inresponse to a selection of the first selection input database integrityinformation included in the database is compared to integrityinformation stored external to the database.
 29. The user interface ofclaim 28, wherein the integrity information is included in aconfiguration file.
 30. The user interface of claim 28, wherein theintegrity information is stored in an encrypted configuration file. 31.A computer readable medium having computer-executable instructions forchecking the integrity of a database containing both physiologicalinformation and database integrity information, the computer executableinstructions including: instructions to display a user interface of ahealthcare management software system; and instructions to determine anintegrity of the database based on a test of integrity informationstored external to the database and the database integrity informationcontained in the database.
 32. The computer readable medium of claim 31,wherein the integrity information includes data used by the healthcaremanagement software system to determine information to present with anoutput device accessible by the healthcare management software system.33. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein the integrityinformation includes at least one conversion quantity for thephysiological information contained in the database, the databaseintegrity information also including the at least one conversionquantity.
 34. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein theintegrity information includes data not used by the healthcaremanagement software system in determining information to present with anoutput device accessible by the healthcare management software system.35. The computer readable medium of claim 31, wherein the integrityinformation is included in a configuration file.
 36. The computerreadable medium of claim 35, wherein the configuration file is anencrypted configuration file.
 37. A computer readable medium havingcomputer-executable instructions, the computer executable instructionsincluding an installation software which installs a version of ahealthcare management software system, the installation software beingable to perform at least a first installation of a first version of thehealthcare management software system including a first database havinga first database integrity information and a first file containing afirst integrity information and a second installation of a secondversion of the healthcare management software system including a seconddatabase having a second database integrity information and a secondfile containing a second integrity information.
 38. The computerreadable medium of claim 37, wherein the first integrity informationmatches the first database integrity information and the secondintegrity information matches the second database integrity information.